Cats are particularly vulnerable to veterinary stress, and low-stress handling techniques significantly improve welfare during examination and treatment.
Feline veterinary stress is both a welfare problem and a clinical impediment. Stressed cats show elevated heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose that complicate clinical interpretation. They are also more likely to injure staff, receive less thorough examinations, and have owners who delay subsequent visits. Low-stress handling is therefore simultaneously a welfare imperative and a clinical best practice. The cat-friendly practice movement has raised standards significantly, and owners should actively seek practices that apply these principles — expecting fear-based restraint as normal is no longer acceptable.